“The Premier League will never be the same again.”
“No way this was supposed to happen.”
“The most amazing sporting underdog story of all time.”
All of these lines were used to describe Leicester City’s journey to become champions of the Premier League. And all of these lines came from Rob Tanner’s 5000-1: The Leicester City Story: How We Beat the Odds to Become Premier League Champions.
Tanner offers a fresh perspective on the Leicester City story thanks to the fact that he has been the chief football writer at the Leicester Mercury since 2009. It’s easy to say that Tanner has been around for and covered the highs and lows of the Foxes and has seen a lot of both. His passion for the team is really unmatched and you know that he really meant it when he said it was the most unforgettable season of his career.
This text starts off strong with a foreword by Alan Smith, former Leicester City and Arsenal striker, who helped Leicester City to a Second Division title in 1984/85. You may know him better as a pundit for Sky Sports or as the voice of EA Sports’ FIFA series.
Tanner does a great job setting up the story, a story that seemed to be rather uncertain just a year ago. Manager Nigel Pearson was sacked and talisman Esteban Cambiasso decided to not return to the Foxes. City fans were told to keep the faith, but no one really expected them to win football’s biggest prize with the 5000-1 odds against them.
In came Claudio Ranieri, a manager with a wealth of experience and a nomadic personality. A rough time with the national team in Greece smudged his résumé a bit, but Leicester City took a gamble and it paid off in a big way. It would be his 16th stop in his managerial career.
This book proves this journey is not just about Ranieri and Jamie Vardy. There’s a much bigger picture and a lot more people that made this miraculous ascent possible. And those people have interesting stories to tell.
Take Wes Morgan, who grew up in a rough area of Nottingham, a person that regularly says that football saved his life.
Or N’Golo Kanté and Danny Drinkwater, who made people forget about Cambiasso, one of the most celebrated Argentinian players of all-time. Kante became so beloved at City that pundits would go on to say that City could retain their title if Chelsea hadn’t snatched him away.
Drinkwater became one of the club’s most reliable players even though he didn’t have the goals of Vardy or Riyad Mahrez. Then you have Japanese international Shinj Okazaki, who made his name in the German leagues. Each player is a great story and you need to hear about each of them to understand how those labelled as “misfits” became champions at the top of the sporting world.
This review is just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to this story and this book. It’s well done in every regard and it is the most complete and comprehensive Leicester City book that you’ll find anywhere. We think you’ll have a better understanding of City once you have read this one as it explains all of the pieces in one place. It’s a must-read for anyone that wants an inside look at the championship run of Leicester City in 2015-2016.
